


Popcorn and Wine

by aprosebyanyothername



Category: Scandal (TV)
Genre: F/F, apple cider doughnuts, convertible?, couples massage?, kiss kiss, mellie is nicki minaj, mellie slays the singing scene, mellie yes, mellivia bitches, quinn is my fave third wheel, sally slays
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-06-05 07:40:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6695857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aprosebyanyothername/pseuds/aprosebyanyothername
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcome lovers of liberty,  I’m Sally Langston and the only thing with more tension than the presidential race is the relationship between our guests today, Olivia Pope and Senator Mellie Grant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kiss, kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Ayy, first Mellivia fic... actually first fic ever and I'm p proud about how it turned out. Hope that you enjoy, if you read :^)

When it came to Olivia's standards for popcorn, they weren't very high. She didn't need the most expensive or most natural or anything like that. Her expectations for a good wine, however, were drastically different. Even just for herself, drinking wine became an event. Though, drinking with another person did make it more interesting.

She had already set everything up for her night in. She had a huge bowl of buttery popcorn out and had grabbed her favourite bottle of wine. As she poured herself a glass she could smell the aroma. She settled down, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and reached for the TV remote.

She flipped through all the news channels looking for information of updates on the latest presidential race, a race that the she was a major part of due to her role as Senator Mellie Grant's campaign manager.

Olivia soon found herself on the channel where she would soon make an appearance with Senator Grant to inform the country about their plan for the campaign and the recent actions of Mellie Grant. The interview would be on former Vice President of the United States, Sally Langston's news show, "Lovers of Liberty," an interview that Olivia had set up for Mellie, but had somehow been roped into being a part of as well.

Now, however, the channel was playing the new episode of "How to Get Away With Murder," which Olivia decided to watch and sat back into her couch. Forty five minutes into the episode, she heard a faint knock at the door. Being three glasses of wine in she was a little tipsy when she rose to answer the door, and knocked her popcorn onto the floor. She sighed as she stepped over the kernels to reach the door. She, first, checked through the peephole to make sure that it wasn't another kidnapper and proceeded to unlock all of the locks that went up and down her door.

She pulled the door open and was met by the face of Senator Mellie Grant standing in the hallway.

"Mellie?" Olivia questioned, racking her brain for a reason that Mellie Grant would be at her house, "what are you doing here?"

Just then, Olivia spotted a jar of clear liquid in Mellie's hand and made the connection that the Senator was drunk.

"Can I come in?" Mellie asked with a tinge of impatience in her voice. Olivia decided not to let her presidential candidate stand drunk in the hallway and moved to allow her room to enter the apartment. Mellie walked lazily over to the couch and perched on the edge. She took a big gulp of the clear hooch, shuddered, and then sat back.

"What are you doing here?" Olivia repeated, more firmly this time.

"Woah, calm down there, sheriff," Mellie said putting her hands up. Her southern accent seeped through the cracks of her personality, weakened by the booze. "I'm just here to talk about our strategy for the interview this Tuesday."  
"Mellie, we could have talked about this tomorrow, or at least over the phone." Mellie just shrugged and took another swig of hooch.

Olivia then noticed a crunching sound and looked towards the ground at Mellie's high heels carelessly stepping on the dropped popcorn kernels. She knelt down and started gathering popcorn in her hands to throw out. Once was done, she picked up the bowl and brought both into the kitchen. She tossed the popcorn in the trash and put the bowl in the sink.

"I'm making more popcorn," Olivia yelled to Mellie, "do you want me to make enough for two?"

"Do whatever you want!" Mellie hollered back.

Olivia decided not to take a chance, and took a large bag of microwave popcorn out of the box. She put it in the microwave and pressed the "popcorn" button. As the hum of the microwave started up, she walked back into the living room to talk to Mellie.

"What part of the interview do you want to discuss?" Olivia questioned.

"I wanna know what I should do about the filibuster," Mellie said before taking another sip of hooch, "I've been thinking... And I think that Sally will try to make me look... Like a bitch..."

Olivia was taken aback by how disjointed the thought seemed to be. She blamed the hooch in Mellie's hand, which had become closer and closer to an empty mason jar in the past twenty minutes.

"I hadn't thought about that," Olivia said with a stern look and a tilted head. Just then, the microwave beeped, indicating the popcorn was done. Mellie paused to wait for Olivia to retrieve the popcorn. Olivia sighed and walked back into the kitchen, opened the microwave and took the popcorn out. She got a large silver bowl from her cabinet and filled it.

Once she passed back to the living room she sat on the couch next to Mellie, who had taken her heels off and and brought her legs up on the couch to sit more comfortably.

"But, no you're right. She could say that your were just procrastinating to not have to make any real decisions and that you weren't really looking out for the American people." Olivia said, looking at the ground and wracking her brain for ideas on how to spin this.

She took a sip of the wine she had been nursing and raised her head as if she had an idea.

"I could say that I have remained silent for so long on my views for this subject that I could not contain myself any longer. I could not stand for this unethical and unjust decision to be carried. That I feel so strongly for all those women that want to make this choice for their bodies and their lives." She ended with a smile on her face and her eyes gleaming.

Olivia took another sip of wine with a smile.

"That's good, show the country that you will go to the ends of the earth for your beliefs and for what you stand for and that your ideals will come to be true. Show them your drive, and ambition, and your desire to be president of the United States of America so that women and all over the country can make their own choice when it comes to their health."

Mellie and Olivia were smiling now and they had both leaned forward in their excitement. Mellie leaned back first and chuckled at their successful brainstorm.

They continued to eat popcorn and drink wine on the couch. They got to watching a marathon of "Friends" reruns and by the time it was over it was past one in the morning.

"Alright," Mellie breathed, "I guess I should head home."

"No, you can't," Olivia said with a chuckle, "it's too late and you're drunk. You can stay in my guest bedroom." Olivia motioned towards the hallway that led to her bedroom and to the guest room that branched off.

"What, no, I'm perfectly capable of driving right now," Mellie said as she bumped into Olivia's coffee table.

"Mellie," Olivia said, more sternly this time, "you really shouldn't drive." Mellie couldn't tell if it was the way that Olivia looked at her or if it was the alcohol but she felt inclined to give in.

"Fine," she said with a sigh, "do you happen to have any PJ’s?"

 

Olivia went into her room and came out with a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt.

"Here you go."

Mellie took the clothes and walked into the room to change and go to bed.  
At the doorframe, she leaned back to look at Olivia.

"Thank you," she said, looking into Olivia's eyes, "for everything."

 

The following morning, Olivia got up early, around six o’clock. She sat up in bed and grabbed her phone from her nightstand. She turned in the screen and had to shield her eyes from it’s brightness.

Her head was throbbing, consequences of a whole night of drinking. Feeling like some real hangover food, she turned down her phone brightness and went to the Gettysburger website. She ordered her burger and Freedom Fries and was about to send the order and heard Mellie groan in the other room. She set her phone down and walked into the room. The sheets had been all messed up and tangled in Mellie’s legs and all around her. Her arm was over her eyes and she groaned in pain again when Olivia turned on the bedroom light. It was understandable that Mellie’s hangover was worse, she had been drinking the hooch before she had gotten to Olivia’s and then they had wine all night.

“Mellie I’m getting Gettysburger, do you want some?” Olivia asked. Mellie groaned again and Olivia thought she saw her nod her head. “Okay, what do you want me to order you?”

Mellie rolled over, away from the door and away from Olivia.  
“Fine,if you won’t tell me what you want, then I’ll just order something for you.” Olivia turned and walked back into her room. She sat on her bed and picked up her phone. She opened it again and adjusted her order to fit the added customer. She ended up ordering Mellie the same burger that she was getting but with an extra large order of Freedom Fries.

The food came in about fifteen minutes, which Olivia thought was remarkable service given the quality of the food that she received. She paid the delivery man and brought the food into Mellie’s room. She sat on her bed and pulled the burgers out of the greasy paper bag. She set Mellie’s burger on the nightstand next to her bed. She pulled a Freedom Fry out of the bag, and offered it to Mellie. It was close enough to Mellie’s face that she just reached out her head and snatched the fry from Olivia’s hand. Oliva retracted her hand but then started laughing at Mellie’s hungover actions. Mellie, seeing Olivia’s laughter, broke out laughing herself. They sat there awhile just laughing together. ONce they calmed down, they realized how hungry they really were and started devouring their burgers. Mellie playfully threw a fry at Oliva and it hit her right on the forehead. Olivia got a astonished look on her face, which then turned into a huge smile. Olivia threw one back that landed on Mellie’s stomach. She grabbed it and ate it and then burst out into an ugly kind of laughter. The best kind of laugh. Olivia couldn’t help but join in and they laughed for a long time. After they were done they started cleaning up all the food wrappers and empty fry containers.

They finished that and then went back into their rooms to change into daytime clothes. They met back up in Olivia’s living room and lingered near the door.

“Thank you again, Liv,” Mellie said, “for the breakfast and the room.”

Of course, Mellie,” Olivia responded, “anytime.’ She said it with a smile that made Mellie unusually happy. They walked closer to the door and stopped again, just looking at each other. Mellie shook her head as if she was coming out of a trance. She grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open.

She moved into the hall and whispered *thank you* again before turning and pressing the elevator button to go to the lobby of Olivia’s building. They nodded at each other as Mellie stepped into the elevator. The doors closed and Olivia noticed something strange.

Her heart was beating strangely fast.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The interview on “Lovers of Liberty” was in only a few hours and Mellie was at the Olivia Pope and Associates office, pacing. She was oddly nervous. She had been on many interviews and television broadcasts before, but something about this one made her anxious. Maybe it was the fact that this was her first interview with Olivia? No, of course not. The elevator up to the office dinged and Olivia strutted out with a confident air about her. Mellie instantly calmed down. It made her lose her train of thought when she saw her

“Are you ready, Mellie?” Olivia said with a poised smirk on her face.

Mellie snapped back to attention. “Yes, just a little nervous, Sally is against us all the way, so…” She trailed off, looking into space. 

“Mellie!” Olivia said loudly, “what’s going on with you? Everybody clear out, Mellie, into my office.” All the OPA Gladiators scurried out of the room and crammed into the elevator, while Mellie followed Olivia into the conference room.

“What’s going on with you, Mel?” Olivia asked, testing the waters with a nickname.

Mellie, who didn’t seem phased by the nickname (but totally was crumbling inside) responded by assuring Olivia, “I’m fine, I just feel a little panicky, my nerves are going through the roof.”

 

“Why?” Olivia asked, “You’re usually never nervous on TV or in interviews.”  
“I know, I’m just feeling butterflies in my stomach and I don’t know why!”

Olivia could tell that Mellie was getting worked up. She did the most impulsive, odd thing that she could have done and pulled Mellie into a tight hug.

Mellie’s hands relaxed as she lifted her arms to hug Olivia back.

They stood that way for a while, not noticing Quinn and Marcus had come back up and were peering around the corner at them, with smiles.

Olivia and Mellie ended their embrace and Olivia grabbed Mellie’s hand.

“You can do this, we can do this.” Olivia said.

“Okay,” Mellie said, nodding her head and smiling, “we’re gonna kick Sally’s questions in the ass.”

 

“Live in ten minutes!” A loud voice boomed through the set of “Lovers of Liberty.” Mellie was back to pacing again even after Olivia's numerous attempts to calm her down. Sally was sitting in front of a giant mirror offstage, with bright lights all around the rim of the mirror, it was like Sally was getting ready to shoot a movie. Olivia could see Mellie from the other side of the set. She had her arms crossed and was just staring at Mellie, worrying that she wouldn't be able to go on. Mellie looked up and saw Olivia walking towards her. She started forward, wanting to meet her halfway but as she stepped, the heel on her left foot snapped. She started to fall but Olivia saw what was happening and reached forward to catch Mellie. Mellie landed in her arms and used Olivia to steady herself.

“Woah, easy there!” Olivia said, with a surprised chuckle. Mellie felt her cheeks turn bright red. She felt so embarrassed and wanted to disappear into thin air. Her heart race as Olivia asked if she was okay.

 

“Alright everyone, we’re live in two minutes!” Olivia heard the warning yell again.

 

“Wait, no, Mel, er… the Senator needs a new pair of shoes.” A member of the crew ran up to Mellie like she was in critical condition with a new pair of shoes. Olivia grabbed the shoes from the crew member and put them on Mellie’s feet.

They stood up and heard the sound, “Live in 5… 4… 3… 2… action!”

“Welcome lovers of liberty, I’m Sally Langston and the only thing with more tension than the presidential race is the relationship between our guests today, Olivia Pope and Senator Mellie Grant.” Mellie’s jaw dropped and she could see that next to her, Olivia’s did too. Mellie closed her mouth and followed OLivia onto the set where they sat in the seemingly comfy chairs that remained next to Sally’s desk (they were not comfortable at all). “Now it is clear that you are ‘great friends’ but the public and I are all wondering if there is something more than a business relationship?” Sally asked, looking like she just caught sight of her prey.

 

“Excuse me Sally, but i thought that this interview was about the presidential campaign, not the details of our relationship, and in fact, I think that it is very immature of you to succumb to nothing but gossip and lies.” said Mellie. Olivia turned to her in shock of how abrupt and blunt her response was. Sally’s eyes widened and a smile graced her face again.

“Hmm seems someone’s a bit touchy on this subject… Well, alright, then I’ll move on… for now.” Sally responded, not missing a beat.

 

The interview proceeded without any more hitches and Sally ended the show off by opening the question of the girls’ sexuality once again.

“Though this episode of Lovers of Liberty is over, the answers to Mellie and Olivia’s relationship are still up in the air. Join me next time on Lovers of Liberty.”

Mellie stood up, dazed. Somehow she and Olivia had managed to survive this attack from Sally. For some reason with Olivia sitting next to her everything seemed to have gone well.

As Sally Langston walked off set, she passed behind them and whispered, “Kiss, kiss.”


	2. Cider Doughnuts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Given this fact, does this little outing relate to Sally Langston’s accusations of you two being a couple?” The reporter asked. She put the microphone in Olivia’s face now and waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM SECOND CHAPTER... tried my best with the dialogue and interactions between the most savage couple in the universe.
> 
> EEEp hope this chapter is just as enjoyed as the last

The gladiator gang sat around the OPA conference room table. They had been passing around a bottle of vodka for the past twenty minutes. It being a friday night, they had the rest of the weekend off of work, so being blackout drunk didn’t seem like a bad idea to anybody. From across the table, Mellie could see that Olivia had only taken sips of her wine and been drinking the same glass for the past hour. Whenever the vodka came to her, she would just pass it on to Huck. They carried on like this for awhile until they heard the elevator start to rise to their floor. Olivia got up and walked into the office lobby. The doors opened and Jake stepped out of the lift.

 

“Rowan wants you to come home, Liv.” Jake said, looking down at the ground.

 

“No, you can tell him that I don’t want anything to do with his plans.” Liv said, crossing her arms and standing up straighter.

 

“He told me to come get you anyway.” Jake said stepping forward. Huck stepped forward to get in front of Olivia but Mellie (her judgement being clouded by alcohol) walked up to Jake and slapped him across the face.

 

“How dare you tell her what to do!” Mellie yelled, stumbling backwards to regain her balance. Jake brought his hand up to his face to feel the spot where he was hit. “You can’t just come up here and force her to go with you!”

 

“You should leave, Jake… Now!” Olivia started to get angry. Huck stepped forward.

 

“Now,” Huck parroted Olivia. Jake put his hands up and started backing away.

 

“Fine, but just know that Rowan is adamant about this. I’ll be coming back, to get you next time. Just hope your friends don’t get in my way.” Jake turned and got back in the lift. He pressed one of the buttons and the doors closed. All of the group let out the breath they had been holding in. Only Huck and Quinn had seen the gun at Jake’s belt. They had felt safer knowing that they had had theirs.

OPA gang couldn’t get back into the groove of the night after that. They all mostly decided to go home, save Huck and Quinn who decided to keep drinking. They seemed the least drunk out of all of them. Except Olivia who had been dry all night.

Marcus called a cab and Mellie was about to hail one down.

 

“Hold on,” Olivia said, pulling down Mellie’s raised arm, “why don’t you just stay at my place again?” Mellie was taken aback by this but kept her cool and nodded her head to let Olivia know that she liked the idea.

 

Olivia hadn’t had much alcohol so she drove the two of them back to her apartment. The ride was mostly silent, only awkward small talk was made but Mellie was pretty far gone. They pulled into the parking lot of Olivia’s building and got out of the car. They walked through the lobby and went to the elevator. They reached Olivia’s floor and entered her house. Olivia practically carried Mellie to the guest room and led her over to the guest bed. Mellie took off her heels and got under the covers, in her dress and full makeup. Olivia walked to the door of the room and turned off the light. She walked out and over to the bathroom. By the time she finished brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed, it was two o’clock in the morning.

 

Olivia woke up to the sound of the doorbell ringing. She rubbed her eyes and swung her legs out of bed. She walked into her living room and sat on the couch. Looking over at the door, she saw Mellie taking a pizza box from a delivery man. Mellie paid the man, closed the door behind him, and turned around. When she noticed Olivia on the couch, she jumped, obviously startled. She recovered quickly and set the pizza down on the coffee table. Olivia noticed that she was wearing glasses. She thought she looked good in them.

 

“Want any?” Mellie said, with a full mouth.

 

“Uh, sure,” Olivia said, slowly reaching for a slice. They both chewed their slices for a while. “What’s on this pizza?” Olivia asked, chewing thoughtfully. 

 

“Eh, I don’t remember. I think there was pineapple, onion, hamburger, pepperoni, peppers, tomato, and some other things.” Mellie said, shrugging her shoulders. She picked up the glass of water that she had on the coffee table. She offered Olivia the glass. She hesitated slightly before reaching her hand out to take the water. She took a sip and then set the glass back down.

 

They sat, eating and making small chit chat when Olivia turned on the TV. She put it on the news channel and sat back with the remote. The latest news came on and there was a report for a fair going on around where Olivia lived.  
“Hey, Mellie, we should go to that. If you just show up unannounced, you’ll seem like a regular citizen. It would be good for your image.” Olivia told her.

 

“Um, okay,” Mellie stuttered, “if you think that would be smart.” She grabbed another slice and sat back without any problems. Olivia smiled to herself. She would be going to the fair, too.

 

The days passed by until the fair came around. Olivia and Mellie met at Olivia’s house and got ready to go. Mellie’s hair was up in a loose, low bun with her glasses and a baseball cap on. Olivia was in shock when she saw her, she didn’t know why but she was speechless. It didn’t show on her face so Mellie couldn’t tell but the unusual silence made her feel awkward.

 

“What is it, Liv?” Mellie asked. She tilted her head, again, bringing Olivia back to life. 

 

“Nothing, I was just thinking about our plan for the rest of the day. Quinn and Marcus will anonymously call into a few news channels so that the news will show up. Remember that we need to be surprised when the reporters come tumbling after us. We need to be having a good time like all the other people at the fair.” Olivia was talking with her hands again which made Mellie chuckle. Olivia, seeing he chuckle took notice of her hands too. She chuckled along with Mellie and soon neither of them felt awkward or upset.

 

They drove to the fair together, and before they got out of the car, Olivia put her baseball cap on. Together they walked up to the ticket booth. They weren’t recognized as they paid for their entry and entered the fair area. They grabbed a map of the grounds and stood next to each other and looked at their map to plan a route for the day.

 

“Hey, I’m going to head to the bathroom,” Olivia said, “I’ll be right back.”

 

“Okay.” Mellie said, smiling. Olivia walked away Mellie looked back at the map. She noticed a stand that she hadn’t seen before and started walking towards it.

 

Olivia was drying her hands on a paper towel as she left the bathroom. She walked back to the spot where Mellie had been and turned around in a circle, looking when there was no sign of her. Olivia texted Mellie and asked where she was. There was no response, but when she looked up, she saw Mellie walking towards her with two fairly large paper bags. 

 

“Hey,” Mellie said, extending one of the bags, “I bought these and I thought we could share.”

 

“Mellie,” Olivia laughed, “this is an obscene amount of doughnuts.” Mellie laughed hysterically.

 

“I know, they’re apple cider doughnuts. I couldn’t resist them, they looked so good.” Mellie said pulling one of the doughnuts out of her bag. She ate it somewhat messily, getting sugar all over her face. After she was done with the doughnut, Olivia pulled a napkin out of the bag she had and handed it to Mellie. Mellie grabbed it and wiped her mouth daintily, trying to recover from the mess of food all over her mouth.

 

They heard a stir somewhere else in the crowd. They looked up to see a mob of reporters quickly speed walking toward them, determination in their eyes.

 

“Senator Mellie Grant, what are you doing at this fair during your campaign?” One of the reporters asked, putting the microphone in Mellie’s face. She recovered from the shock and commotion swiftly and lifted her head up, a smile gracing it.

 

“Well, I just knew of this great fair and I thought it would be fun to go with my campaign manager so she could learn more about me, since we’ll be working closely together for a while.” Mellie didn’t miss a beat, her story weaving together flawlessly. Even Olivia was surprised, if she didn’t know better the believability of the lie and the look on Mellie’s face would have had her fooled. Surprisingly, the reporters seemed satisfied by this response and moved on to another question.

 

“Given this fact, does this little outing relate to Sally Langston’s accusations of you two being a couple?” The reporter asked. She put the microphone in Olivia’s face now and waited.

 

“What I don’t understand is why y’all keep harping on our relationship” Mellie said. “The important things in life are what you do and how you treat people and having lots of good food.” Mellie pulled another doughnut out of the bag and took a bite.

 

While Mellie was chewing the reporter continued with, “That’s nice and all but that doesn’t have anything to do with your campaign or the question.” Mellie’s mouth hung open and Olivia knew that she needed to save their image.

 

“The Senator and I were just trying to have a good time at the fair. There is no unknown part of our relationship. We are friends and we work together to try to make this country the best one to live in. What Senator Grant said was true, our relationship status isn’t important when this country is in major debt and we still have troops risking or losing their lives over seas to keep your news channels able to be played on air.” The reporters seemed to back off after this, they moved back as one big entity and left the fair.

 

“Well, that was a train wreck.” Mellie sighed.

 

“No, I should have been more prepared for those types of questions. I shouldn’t have let you get embarrassed like that…” She trailed off. It had become darker now and the lights of the White House could be seen in the far distance. Olivia lost her train of thought looking at the White House imagining Fitz sitting on the balcony drinking scotch.

 

She felt Mellie tug on her arm and pull her away. They wove through the lit up rides and the game booths. Olivia realized what they were doing as soon as they arrived in front of it. Mellie gave the man that collected the tickets enough for both of them to ride. Mellie stepped into the cart first and tried to steady herself as the ferris wheel seemed to shake. Mellie helped Olivia up next and she sat down next to her. The ride started and they braced themselves against the handles. They stopped every couple of minutes so that every cart could get a turn at the top.

 

“This was a good idea, Mellie…” Olivia said, turning to her. Mellie looked back and smiled.

 

“Thanks, Liv, I thought we could enjoy this together. I figured since you’ve done so much for me. You helped me with my book, you’ve quelled my Gettysburger addiction on multiple occasions and I just thought we could have a day of fun once we got here.”

 

The cart shook, more violently than expected and for some reason Olivia reached down and put her hand instinctively over Mellie’s. She retracted it almost immediately and Mellie started to blush a dark red. They kept looking at each other though, even when it was their turn at the top of the ferris wheel.

“Thank you, Olivia, for everything you’ve done for me and helped me with.” Mellie said, repeating something she knew she had said before.

 

Before either of them knew it, the ride was over and they stepped out of the cart. They walked slowly back to the gate of the fair, each eating more doughnuts along the way. Olivia and Mellie both got in Olivia’s car, with Olivia driving and Mellie in the passenger seat.

 

“I’ll just drop you off, okay, Mellie?” Olivia asked, turning to her.

 

“Uh, yeah, that’s fine, that sounds good.” Mellie responded.

 

They drove to Mellie’s house and she got out of the car. Olivia rolled down the window on Mellie’s side to say goodbye. She waited until Mellie got into her house and close the door to leave.

 

Olivia drove back to her building, entered, and got in the elevator. She reached her floor and the doors slid open. She took a step out before she saw Jake standing in front of her door.


	3. Sing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So… this is for my son, Jerry…” Mellie takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She imagines the chords of a guitar strumming, in her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of sadness... I hope? Not that i want baby Mellie to be sad, i just hope that she looks sad??? Whoops, capitalizing on Jerry's death :):):):):):)
> 
> Props to P!nk's song Beam Me Up for the inspiration for this topic of singing Mel
> 
>  
> 
> (psssst, bellamy young has a cover of this song on her album sooo.....)

“Welcome Lovers of Liberty, I’m Sally Langston. Remember when Senator Mellie Grant and her campaign manager, Olivia Pope weren’t a couple because I sure do, though it seems now that that is a long distant memory. An unknown source has sent in a picture of Olivia Pope and Senator Grant at the top of a ferris wheel together,” She smirked. The pictures appeared on the television screen of everyone watching, including Mellie Grant’s. “This is a riveting storyline that I will gladly follow all the way down to the depths of Hell.”

 

Mellie called Olivia immediately and waited for her to pick up. She had been pacing the office again and for some reason wanted to hear Olivia’s voice. The lack of an answer worried Mellie even more but she tried to calm herself, telling herself lies about why Olivia wouldn’t answer her phone. She waited in the conference room until Quinn and Marcus showed up for work.

 

“Have either of you talked to Liv lately, I need to talk to her about Sally Langston’s newest broadcast.” Mellie waited for one of them to say, Oh, I just talked to her or Yeah, she was just feeling a little sick today. That didn’t happen.

 

“Why, is something wrong with Liv?” Quinn asked leaning forward. 

 

“I don’t know, I just haven’t been able to reach her and I’m getting worried.” Mellie said.

 

The elevator bell dinged and the door opened. Olivia walked out first and Huck followed soon after. Mellie’s eyes grew wide and she ran at Olivia, wrapping her in a long hug. 

 

“Where have you been, where were you, why haven’t you been responding to my texts?” Mellie had her eyebrows furrowed and her he's leaned forwards to get confirmation of Olivia’s safety.

 

“Oh, it was nothing… I just had a, uh, talk with Jake…” Olivia said, though she seemed like she wasn't up for talking right now. Mellie decided to let it go for now stepped to the side as Huck and Olivia walked into her office. Mellie stared at her feet and at the ground.

 

“Can I come in?” Mellie asked after she knocked on the door of the office. Huck had already left and the rest of the crew was getting ready to go on a job.

 

“Sure” Olivia was sitting on her couch with her head in her hands. When Mellie entered Olivia took her head from her hands and scooched over to make room for her on the couch. As was the norm of the OPA office as of late, there was hooch everywhere and Mellie pulled a jar out of the potted plant next to the couch. She opened the lid and offered it to Olivia. She took a swig and cringed.

 

She looked at the wall clock and chuckled, “Only ten in the morning and we’re starting to drink.” Mellie smiled.

 

“Are you really okay, Liv?” She asked.

 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine; it’s just hard to deal with my father and Jake at the same time. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to escape and that if I had the opportunity to, I wouldn’t take the risk.” She put her head in her hands again. She wasn’t crying but it was obvious she was upset. Mellie did the only thing that she could think of and gave Olivia a hug. Olivia leaned into her and they stayed like that for a while. Eventually Olivia pulled back and wiped her eyes with a tissue. They smiled at each other.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Mellie was eating fried chicken in her sweatpants on Olivia’s couch. Olivia was next to her and had the remote in her hands. They were catching up on How to Get Away with Murder (their new favorite show to watch). Olivia turned to Mellie. Mellie didn’t seem to notice, intently watching the scandal that occurred this episode.

 

“The baseball stadium finished construction earlier today.” Olivia said, preparing to defend herself in the event of retaliation… You’re invited to the opening, of course, and I was wondering what I should say about your decision…” She trailed off and waited.

 

“The stadium built for Jerry…” Mellie said, looking at the ground. It was unclear if she was talking to herself or to Olivia, so Olivia continued to wait. Mellie seemed to snap back to reality, “Yeah, of course I’ll go… Will Fitz be there?”

 

“Yes Fitz was on the attendance list,” She dragged out the words and spoke slowly, “but we can put your seat at the other side of the stadium during the opening game.” Mellie nodded her head and grabbed another piece of chicken.

 

Olivia knew that the anniversary of Jerry’s death was coming around and that Mellie was acting like this for that reason. Everyone around the office had been walking on eggshells when Mellie was there so as not to upset her. This had happened last year, too, but now there was the fact that the stadium that was built and dedicated to their son was finally complete.

 

“When's the opening?” Mellie asked, turning to face Olivia.

 

“In two days, on the anniversary, you and Fitz, and anyone you invite will attend the ceremonial ribbon cutting and watch the first game.” Olivia said, looking at the screen.

 

“Okay, what should I wear?”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

In a swirl of emotions, chicken, and high heels the anniversary day came. Mellie was frantic. She had moved past the crying, “Smelly Mellie” phase and just got really nervous and turned into a perfectionist.

 

“Do I look okay, how is my hair, makeup, do I look casual enough, I don't think I can do this?” Mellie was panicking. There was only an hour until the opening game and Olivia was worried about Mellie.

 

“It'll all be fine,” Olivia said, running her hands down Mellie's arms, “it'll be really sweet and beautiful. I promise.” Mellie calmed herself and took two deep breaths.

 

“I'm ready.”

 

The stadium was crowded, people standing in the parking lot and at the entrance and opening gate. Nobody noticed who Mellie was as she and Olivia shuffled through the crowd to the ticket booth and gate. This was probably due to Mellie's casual, yet sophisticated outfit. They passed the concession stands and entered the stadium. As they walked around the rim of the field, a news crew came up to them and asked for a brief interview.

 

“I’m very sorry, but we don't have any time right now, you see we have to get to our seats before the speech for my son.” Mellie pushed past the camera and grabbed Olivia’s hand. They walked over to where Fitz was and sat down in their seats. He turned around and sat down next to Mellie. She retracted away from him and Olivia stood up.

 

“”Fitz, your seat is on the other side of the stadium.” She spoke sternly, but didn’t yell.

 

“I know, but I just figured that since I am President of the United States that I could sit with my ex-wife on the anniversary of the death of our son.” Fitz said with a serious look in his eye.

 

Everyone had gotten to their seats by now and the announcer started speaking. He announced that the President of the United States of America would be giving a speech for his son and for the stadium. Fitz stood up from the seat and buttoned his blazer. He and his security detail walked down the steps to the field and he walked to the center. He got up on the podium and moved the microphone to his mouth.

 

His speech touched on the pain that he felt once his son was killed and how he had to pull the pieces of his life back together to run the country. He talked about how he felt for the First lady the time and how they grieved.

 

“This time of year is very hard for myself, and especially my ex-wife Mellie, who is here today for our son. That is the reason I want to invite her up here to sing for you all in memory of our son.”

 

Olivia’s jaw dropped and when she looked over, she could see that Mellie was doing the same. Mellie stood up and brushed her hair back behind her ear. As she walked down the steps onto the field, the silence was deafening. She stepped up and Fitz handed her a microphone, smiling.

 

“Fitz…” she said, visibly nervous. 

 

“Go ahead, pick any song you want.” Fitz was still smiling and Mellie couldn’t tell if her stomach was upset or it was just nerves. 

 

“So… this is for my son, Jerry…” Mellie takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She imagines the chords of a guitar strumming, in her head.

 

She opens her mouth and begins the words to Beam Me Up. She holds back a quiver in her voice for long enough to get through the first two rounds of the chorus, but by the third time around tears are streaming down her cheeks and her voice and body is shaking. Her voice cracks and she drops her head. Fitz puts an arm around her shoulder and she starts bawling. Olivia is watching from her seat and feels tears slowly flowing down her face. Sure enough, the rest of the audience is in the same situation. Mellie gathers herself and raises her head to finish. She finishes even stronger than she began and as soon as she brings the microphone down the crowd erupts in a chorus of clapping. Everyone stands and applauds. Mellie smiles brightly and wipes the remnants of makeup from her face. She raises the microphone back to her face.

 

“Thank you all for being so supportive in this hard time for my family and I.” Mellie hands the microphone to the announcer and she and Fitz walk back to their seats together. Mellie saw a secret service agent hand a crying Susan Ross a handkerchief.

 

She sat next to Olivia and could see her wipe her eyes when she saw Mellie turn to her.

 

The rest of the day played out as expected. The game went well and Mellie’s favorite team won. On the way out of the stadium, Mellie stood outside the gate and a huge amount of people apologized for Mellie’s loss and said she sang beautifully. She just thanked them and shook their hands. Long after the game was over, Mellie and Olivia got in Olivia’s car and drove back to her house. They parked, got out of the car, went into the lobby, and got in the elevator. They got up to Olivia’s floor and entered her house. They both slumped onto the couch and Mellie rested her head on Olivia’s shoulder. After they rested for a while they got up and Olivia got pajamas out of the closet for Mellie. She took them and went to the guest room.

 

“Goodnight, Liv.”

 

“Goodnight, Mel.”


	4. Nap Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Alright, Mellie, ready?” Olivia asked as she turned off the TV and brushed herself off. Mellie nodded her head and they walked to Olivia's room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk if this is shorter than usual... And also it's been awhile since last chapter so... I might just make the chapters around 2000 words

Mellie yawned as she and Olivia sat in front of the fire at Olivia’s house. They had gone home from the office to have a drink. Olivia turned around as she heard a clatter in the hallway.

 

“You alright over there?” Olivia called into the hallway. Quinn emerged from the darkness holding a blanket in one hand and letting another rest, unfolded over her head. She walked into the living room and plopped down on the space at the end of the couch that was unoccupied. She tossed the folded blanket at the pair of women.

 

“There was only two blankets in that closet and we’re not as close as you two are.” Quinn turned away so she could stifle a laugh that occurred because of her last comment.

 

“Uhh, I’m fine with it if you are.” Olivia said, looking at Mellie.

 

“Oh, that’s fine, I don’t mind at all.” Mellie opened up the blanket and laid it over the both of them. They huddled closer to let the blanket cover them both. They had recently found out about Quinn’s obsession with How to Get Away With Murder. Olivia had invited the both of them over to watch and eat an unreasonable amount of buttery, heart attack inducing popcorn. They sat in silence and concentrated, hearing the crunching of popcorn and the eerie violin sounds of their favorite TV show.

 

After the show ended Olivia sat up further to regain some mobility of her torso (Mellie had fallen asleep on her shoulder halfway through the episode) and the stretch her arms out. Quinn started waking up when she sensed the movement and rubbed her eyes, yawning. Mellie didn’t stir, but she always fell asleep and was a pain to wake up. Olivia didn’t mind, though. It was far too late to travel home, now, anyway and Olivia decided to just let her friends stay there for the night.

 

“Where are your sheets,” Quinn asked, standing up off the couch, “I’ll make up the couch as a bed.”

 

“What, no, of course you won’t!” Mellie whisper-yelled, “I’ll just sleep on the floor in Liv’s room.” Olivia was surprised by this offer, but wasn’t upset about it., Mellie was really okay with sleeping on the floor, besides, Quinn was a special guest at the Pope household and deserved to be treated as such.

 

“No, I couldn’t possibly… are you sure?” Quinn looked like she honestly didn’t want to put anyone out of their bed.

 

“No no no, I insist.” Mellie seemed to be holding firm about this and personally, Olivia was not distraught by this fact.

 

“Alright, if you’re sure…” Quinn said, looking away. She walked down the hallway to the guest room, yelled, “goodnight,” and closed the door for the night.

 

“Alright, Mellie, ready?” Olivia asked as she turned off the TV and brushed herself off. Mellie nodded her head and they walked to Olivia's room.

 

“Can I use one of your pillows?” Mellie asked, reaching for one.

 

“Yeah, of course… What else would you use?” Olivia squinted.

 

“Well I just didn't want to take one of yours…” Mellie grabbed the pillow and took the blanket that they had used on the couch and set them up as a bed in the floor next to Olivia's.

 

“What are you doing?” Olivia asked, dumbstruck.

 

“Making up a bed for myself…” 

 

“What, don't be ridiculous, you can come up here.” Olivia patted the sheets next to her and got in bed. Mellie picked the pillow up off the floor and got in the bed too.

 

“Goodnight, Mellie.” Olivia said as she turned away from her.

 

“Goodnight, Liv.” Mellie said, pulling her pillow closer.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Mellie was the last to wake up. She opened her eyes to find an empty bed and the smell of bacon wafting into the bedroom. She swung her legs onto the floor and got up. When she walked into the kitchen, Olivia was pouring orange juice into the third glass at a set table. Quinn had bacon frying in a pan and scrambled eggs cooling on the counter. Everything seemed too loud to her and she felt like she had looked at the sun for too long. She

 

“What's goin’ on out here?” Mellie asked, shielding her eyes from the light, “are you expecting company?” Mellie sat down at the table and so did Olivia. Next to her. Quinn turned off the burner and put the bowl of eggs on the center of the table. She brought the bacon over and put it on a plate to cool, then, she sat down.

 

“Alright, guys, eat up.” Quinn said, spooning scrambled eggs on to her plate. She passed the bowl. They ate in silence.

 

“How did you guys sleep?” Mellie asked, chewing her breakfast. She thought about how she slept wonderfully, like a baby (even though now she felt like she had been hit by a bus). Quinn chewed thoughtfully.

 

“I slept pretty well,” she turned to Olivia, “that bed in the guest room is really comfortable.” Olivia smiled and nodded in thanks

 

“Yeah, Liv, and your bed is really comfy,” Mellie said, taking another bite. She grabbed a piece of bacon, “This is so good, Quinn… I didn’t know you cooked.”

 

“Oh, this is nothing really… It's just some bacon…” Quinn seemed to trail off. She didn't seem upset, she just looked lost in thought. Mellie was too tired to be really interested in holding up the conversation, though, and ate some more. Once they finished, they put their played in the kitchen sink and Quinn went back to her room to get dressed so she could go back to her house.

 

Quinn left and Mellie helped Olivia make the beds and clean up the house from last night. There were a couple bottles of expensive wine on the floor and coffee table

 

Olivia turned a wine glass in her hand and pinched the bridge of her nose.

 

“Liv, I feel terrible, do you have any aspirin?” Mellie asked, closing her eyes, “how are you okay after last night?”

 

“To be honest I feel like I got hit over the head with a brick.” Olivia said, setting the wine glass down and walking into her bathroom to grab aspirin from the medicine cabinet. While Olivia worked in saving them from their pain, Mellie filled two cups with tap water to drink the pills down.

 

They had their aspirin and put the rest of the forgotten wine glasses in the dishwasher. Mellie grabbed her stuff from the living room and got ready to leave. She felt like she needed a shower more than anything… except maybe some hooch. 

 

“Bye, Mellie, we’ll talk about your campaign plans on Monday…” Olivia said as she opened her door.

 

“Alright,” she hugged Olivia, “bye, love, er… Liv…” Mellie stuttered. She started to blush and hurried out the door and into the elevator.

 

“Uh, bye…” Olivia says back, before she closes the door behind her and resting the back of her head against it. She sighed and walked into her bedroom to tidy up.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The days that followed were slow going. The campaign seemed to be at a standstill, and Olivia got bored of analyzing newscasts and scrolling through page after page of online articles for anything negative about Mellie and the presidential race. The biggest event of recently was Mellie going to see Ellen and being on her show. They talked about the campaign, discussed Mellie’s heterosexuality and played Ellen’s app game. It was good for publicity and Mellie looked like she was having a good time so Olivia felt the whole thing was worth it.

 

Mellie felt the opposite of Olivia, however, and thought things were moving very quickly. She wanted to slow down, take a breather, and relax. She decided to go for a massage.

 

She had been a little nervous talking to Olivia ever since the “love” mess up even though she didn't exactly know why. She decided to just call Olivia and tell her what she wanted.

 

“Uh, hey, Liv, can we talk for a minute?” She said over the phone after Olivia picked up.

 

“Sure, Mellie, is something wrong?” Olivia asked, sounding worried.

 

“Oh, no nothing like that,” Mellie chuckled, “I was just wondering if you would want to go with me to get massages?” Mellie braced herself for rejection.

 

“That sounds like a great idea, Mel!” Olivia responded. Mellie thought she sounded excited but was worried it was just because they were on the phone.

 

“Okay, great, I'll pick you up at your house on Friday at 12:30… I'll make an appointment.” Mellie said.

 

“Sounds good,” Olivia said, “bye, Mellie.”

 

Friday came quickly for both as they anticipated the pampering of a massage. Mellie picked Olivia up and they went to the spa. When they arrived, they went up to the front desk to ask about their appointment. They talked to the woman at the desk and told her who they were.

 

She smiled and said, “Oh, are you here for the couples massage, Ms. Grant?”

 

Olivia and Mellie were taken aback, embarrassed and terrified. “Oh, there must be a mistake… I never scheduled a couples’ massage, it was just a massage.. for… two….” Mellie trailed off, realising the misunderstanding was her fault. “Then could we just switch it over to just a massage for two friends?” Mellie was hopeful that this would work and it did, they got two separate rooms for their spa day. They ended up being done within an hour and feeling refreshed and comfortable.

 

In the lobby of the spa, they planned to remainder of their day.

 

“Wow, Liv, how was your massage, mine was fabulous.” Mellie said, shaking her hands. Olivia smiled and giggled a little at how happy Mellie was.

 

“It was great, Mel, it was really relaxing, though now I feel like I could take a long nap…” Liv said, stretching. “Do you wanna come back to my place to nap? I have PJs…”

 

“Oh my gosh, Liv that sounds really nice. I really need a nap.” Mellie said. Olivia nodded and they both got in her car to go home. It was around 1:30 when they got home and Olivia tossed Mellie the PJs. She changed in the bathroom while Olivia changed in her bedroom. Once they finished, they met back up in the living room.

 

“Ready, Mel?” Olivia asked, smiling. Mellie nodded and they both walked back into Olivia’s room.

 

They napped for about an hour. Mellie woke first, rubbing her eyes and sitting up as though she was startled. This made Olivia stir and wake up. She sat up to and smiled at Mellie. She raised her arms up and stretched. Mellie yawned and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Olivia reached out for Mellie’s hand before she could get out of bed.

 

“Wait, Mel… I don't wanna have to get up! I wanna go back to sleep!” Olivia said at her, comically. Mellie laughed and lay back down. They stared at the ceiling for a while, quietly. 

 

They eventually got up and drove back to the office to check in on OPA. Nobody was there except for Quinn who was having coffee in the conference room while looking over the file of their most recent client. They said their hellos and sat down with her.

 

After brainstorming solutions for the case for a few hours, Quinn decided to call it a day and Mellie and Olivia decided to leave too. They went back to Olivia's house as they had been doing for most of the past week. Mellie thought she might as well move in. This was a private thought, of course and would never speak a word of it to Olivia. She was only kidding herself… Wasn't she?


	5. Anything for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Liv! They have soap shaped like a flip flop!” She leaned out the door to look at Olivia, “a flip flop!”

The campaign trail had been long and difficult, trying to rally votes and support from the states throughout the country. Olivia noticed this and could see Mellie be a little more distant when talking to the press or when touring the country.

 

“Mels…” Olivia said as she walked into OPA on a Sunday morning.

 

“What is it Liv?” Mellie responded, looking up from the paperwork she had been looking at. She looked tired. Liv knew it, she always knew.

 

“I think we should go on a roadtrip.” Liv said, “Just the two of us.” 

 

Mellie was taken aback by this and her eyes grew wide. “Okay, um…” she smiled, “When would we leave?” The smile grew into a large grin as she couldn’t hold back her happiness.

 

“Well, I was thinking that you could stay over my place tonight and then we could leave really early in the morning to avoid the press and being followed.” Liv had had all of this planned for weeks. All she needed was Mellie to approve.

 

“Alright, Liv, I’ll just need to stop at my house to pack and then schedule a sitter for Teddy.” Mellie said, scrambling to get her car keys and phone. She slipped on the high heels she had thrown on the ground. 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Later that night, Olivia was sitting on her couch watching TV when she heard a knock at the door. She set her wine down on the coffee table and got up to answer it. When she looked through the peep-hole in the door and saw a very frantic Mellie looking side to side, dragging a suitcase beside her. Olivia opened the door and invited her in.

 

“Hi, Liv, I got as much together as I could, as fast as I could,” though she looked tired, Mellie was beaming as if she was excited. 

 

After they both made it inside, Mellie sat on the couch and started to unzip her suitcase. She flipped open the top and pulled out a big bottle of hooch. Seeing this, Olivia stood up and walked over to her fridge in the kitchen. She opened the door, looked inside, and saw what she needed. She grabbed the bottle of wine, moved it to the side, and grabbed a jar of hooch off the shelf. Ever since Mellie had been coming over so frequently, she had brought over a few bottles of hooch for Olivia to stash all over the apartment. 

 

A few hours later, most of the hooch was gone, along with all the stress of Mellie’s day. Though Olivia was pretty drunk herself, she could see Mellie was enjoying herself, and that made her happy. 

 

“Alright, let’s get to bed, we need to be up early tomorrow to avoid the press.” Olivia said, pulling Mellie’s arm towards the bedroom.

 

“Oh, come on, Liv, can’t we stay up a little bit longer?” Mellie whined, pulling her arm away. 

 

Even though Mellie’s proposition was oddly tempting, Olivia knew she had be the ‘bad guy.’ “No, come on, Mel.” She said firmly.

 

“Ugh, fine!” Mellie groaned, stomping overdramatically into the bedroom. As Mellie got into Olivia’s bed, Olivia went to the doorway to say goodnight before going to the guest room--she felt Mellie was too drunk and that she needed her space. As Olivia went to swing the door shut, Mellie started doing something that kind of looked like winking but was something closer to blinking repeatedly. 

 

“What are you doing?” Olivia asked her, raising her eyebrows. 

 

“What are you doing?” Mellie asked, continuing to ‘wink.’

 

“Goodnight, Mellie.” Olivia chuckled as she closed the door behind her.

 

She quietly turned the rest of the apartment’s lights off and got into bed in the guestroom. As soon as she closed her eyes she was asleep.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Olivia’s phone alarm she had set blared through the silence of the apartment at 3:30 in the morning. She hadn't wanted to set it so early but she had wanted to be sure that she and Mellie got out of the house without being spotted. She was starting to feel like she was being hunted by the media.

 

She got up and gathered her suitcase, rolled it into the kitchen and got ready for the day. After, she walked back to her room to see if she could get Mellie awake. She entered her bedroom and flipped on the light. It was more abrupt than Olivia had thought but she didn't turn it off. Mellie cringed and turned away from the light, pulling the blankets over her head

 

“No, Liv, seriously this is too much…” Mellie yelled from under the comforter.

 

“No, come on Mellie, it's time to go,”. Olivia said firmly, “you have to get up.”

 

“Fine,” Mellie huffed, “but I'm wearing my PJs in the car.” Olivia rolled her eyes and turned out of the room. Minutes later she heard the bathroom faucet start to run and Mellie brush her teeth.

 

After they were all ready to go, they stepped into the elevator with their suitcases and pushed the button for the lobby. They reached the first floor and rolled their suitcases out to the car. Olivia had rented a nice convertible for their trip and was excited to put the roof down on the highway.

 

Olivia got in the driver's seat and Mellie sat shotgun. As they got driving on the highway, the dark sky lightened up into a light blue colour, not a cloud in sight. The sun shine brightly on the baby blue convertible and Mellie excitedly press the button for the car’s top to come down.

 

They drove along the highway for a while, jamming to Mellie’s favorite pop artists on the radio. She seemed to have a special affinity for rapping along to Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea. Olivia found this amusing and liked to listen as Mellie hit every note and beat.

 

The 10 hour drive to the coast of Maine was gonna be a long one but Olivia thought to herself that she probably wouldn't get bored and she had a feeling that she knew why.

 

After staying along a road that wrapped around the east coast, they came to a rest stop. Unfortunately for the avid fast food fan on the ride, there were no Gettysburgers outside of D.C. She would have to settle for a small diner that only served had a one page menu, compared to Gettysburger’s four page menu.

 

Mellie decided that she wanted an omelet, bacon, and home fries with coffee. She then proceeded to grab an unreasonable amount of sugar packets from the basket at their table while Olivia ordered two eggs, over easy with an English muffin and black coffee.

 

It didn't take long for the food to come because the diner wasn't very crowded and they ate together, laughing and cracking jokes at each other. They had a surprisingly good time and the food was very tasty.

 

After a while they got back on the road and prepared for the home stretch to the coastal Maine hotel. The remaining hours of the drive went by quickly and this time Olivia was allowed to listen to her classical music stations. Those types of songs were not to Mellie’s tastes but she didn't mind as long as Olivia was enjoying herself.

 

A few hours later Olivia pulled the car into the hotel parking lot. They parked out front and got their suitcases out of the backseat. They rolled into the hotel lobby and checked in at the front desk. Olivia just gave her name so as to not give away the secret about their room. They walked towards the elevators and Olivia pressed the ‘up’ arrow. When they stepped in, Olivia stood in front of the panel with the buttons just so Mellie couldn't see what floor they were going to. 

 

The bell dinged and they arrived on the floor. They stepped out and walked to the end of a long hallway. Olivia slipped the keycard into the slot and the green light flickered on, signaling that the door was unlocked. She pushed the door open and Mellie’s eyes opened wide as she saw how big the room was. Olivia smiled when she saw Mellie’s face. Mellie hopped excitedly into the room and admired all the wooden decorations and the beach theme. She walked into the bathroom to check it out.

 

“Liv! They have soap shaped like a flip flop!” She leaned out the door to look at Olivia, “a flip flop!”

 

Olivia chuckled and laid her purse onto the couch. It was a worn leather couch that seemed to fit the theme of the room even though Olivia thought it shouldn't.

 

“Liv, you didn't have to do all this…” Mellie murmured, running her hand against the leather couch, “I'll pay you back or something.” 

 

“Shut up, Mel, of course not.” Olivia rolled her eyes at Mellie’s constant insistence of returning the favor.

 

Mellie walked towards the bedroom door, laying her bag down on the couch. She turned the doorknob and felt her stomach flutter. “Oh…”

 

“What?” Olivia walked toward Mellie, a little put off by her expression. Hers soon matched, however, when she saw the bedroom.

 

“I, uh, I didn't realize you only booked one bed.” Mellie tittered, walking into the bedroom.

 

In a cross between awkward and a little frustrated, Olivia crossed her arms, “I didn't. I asked for two, they messed it up. I'll call--” 

 

“No--” Mellie said quickly, and backtracked, “I mean, I'm fine with it, we’ve slept in the same bed together before, this time isn't any different.” Although it seemed different somehow, it felt different. 

 

Olivia nodded, “Yeah, of course. You're right.” They stood there awkwardly, staring at the bed, until Olivia spoke up again. “I have something to show you.”

 

She led Mellie to two glass doors and pulled them open. They stepped onto a small stone balcony that looked over the water and some craggy rocks. Mellie's mouth dropped and she immediately rushed over to the ledge. She looked over, in awe, at the rolling waves and rushing foam.

 

“It's beautiful…” Mellie said. She couldn't stop staring. Olivia smiled a huge smile, happy that all her plans up to that point had worked.

 

They waited a few more minutes in silence before Olivia stepped next to Mellie, “Let's go for a walk.”

 

They made the journey back down to the lobby and out to the front of the building. The beach was right next to them and because of this, a boardwalk led all around the coast and far into the water. At the end of an empty pier, Olivia could see a single light pole, glowing against the water. They took off their shoes and held them in their hands, letting them dangle from their fingers. 

 

They started off into the darkness, stating just out of reach of the water’s reaching grip, toes digging into the soft, wet sand. They walked next to each other for awhile until Mellie started to pull ahead of Olivia. Once she got far enough away, she closed her eyes and started spinning slowly, breathing in the salty air. Fitz hadn't taken her to the water in ages. Olivia stopped to watch Mellie, letting her had some time to enjoy herself. They were in no rush. To Mellie and Olivia, all the stresses and responsibilities of the world washed away, leaving just this moment between them.

 

They soon reached a clump of dunes, past which, the beach seemed to extend on forever into the darkness and moonlight.

 

“Alright, let's turn back,” Olivia said, “we have some more to see.” They travels back towards the hotel slowly, Olivia noticed that Mellie seemed radiant in the moonlight. She was glowing.

 

They reached the boardwalk again, and the area where there were spigots to rinse off sandy shoes and feet. They rinsed off but kept their shoes off. Olivia led Mellie over the wooden panels as they walked across the pier. It was an unusually long one, reaching far into the seemingly endless expanse of water they now hovered over. 

 

Mellie grabbed for Olivia’s hand playfully, and once she had a hold on Olivia, their hands started swinging in between them as they walked. Olivia saw Mellie’s grin and was dazzled by its brilliance. They finally got to the end of the empty boardwalk and both leaned against the railing, looking out into the sea.

 

Olivia's heart raced.  
She slowly moved her hand over to Mellie’s. Once they touched, Mellie looked over at Olivia, startled. Then, she got used to it and looked back at the water.

 

“Thank you for taking me here… I needed this,” Mellie said, not making eye contact with Olivia.

 

“Anything for you”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, that was a doozy, especially after I had a "hiatus" for a while. (Which is really just not writing at all summer break and then school started so). My bestie leatherandlace helped me out by writing this with me so it'll likely be a lot better than usual. ;)


End file.
